Will Porsche cave in and proceed with building a hybrid version of the 911?

A few years ago, Porsche boss Michael Macht gave hints on the possibility of building a hybrid version of the company’s most iconic model, the Porsche 911.
While it wasn’t a full-on declaration of intent and purpose, Macht did leave the door open for Porsche to explore whatever possibilities are found behind that door. But now, it appears that the German automaker is moving away from the idea of seeing a hybrid 911.

To that, we think they finally figured out it was a bad idea.

It can be argued that a lot of people are on the fence about the thought of seeing a hybrid 911. There are those that would like to see one, considering that it’s expected to be more fuel efficient than a full-on gas-guzzling version.
Others, on the other hand, are weary of tainting the legacy of the 911. For these people, there’s a simple solution: If Porsche plans on producing a hybrid sports car, they should just come out with a new model altogether and leave the 911 alone.

Now, history has shown that Porsche has caved in to market demands when they introduced the Cayenne SUV and the Panamera family sedan in their line-up. But the difference between those two models and a potential 911 hybrid was that they didn’t touch any of their existing models, opting instead to build an entirely new model based on those specific platforms.

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If the company really wanted to build a hybrid sports car - no, we’re not counting the 918 Spyder - then the prudent thing to do is to follow the procedures they did when they created the Cayenne and the Panamera. If budget and resources are a problem, they have a couple of entry level models - the Cayman and the Boxster - that they can use as pegs for a future hybrid model.

The thing with sports cars is that they have to be as light as possible to take advantage of the age-old physics adage "lighter means faster." Putting in a hybrid system and the additional weight that comes with it - batteries, motors, and additional cooling systems - well, that pretty much goes against the core principles of a true sports car.

If we’re going to have a suggestion on this predicament, we’re going to tell Porsche to leave the 911 alone. If they end up exploring a hybrid sports car, they should either make a new model altogether, or probably use their other models as their pegs.

Whatever the case may be, there are certain models in this world that are best kept to their roots. The Porsche 911 is one of them.